September 16, 2012
Day 120: Middelkerke to Ieper (Ypres), Belgium: In Flanders Fields
We may be slow, but we had arrived here on the North Sea coast a little early. Our choice was to go to England and risk our lives cycling around the south coast a bit before heading for London, or to cycle more in relatively bicycle friendly Belgium. We chose Belgium.
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Our plan was to head to Ieper, which is the site of the "In Flanders Fields" museum. The GPS selected a fairly direct main road for the trip, but Dodie spotted the Ijzer River, which together with a canal would also take us to Iper. The river was a good choice, because it continues our practice of following rivers. We also found out that the river was extremely strategic during WWI, and we came across some most significant sites, just by being on it.
The first move was to head along the coast, unti we could find the river - at Nieuwpoort. We started at the Middelkerke beach, and found there quite a scene. First off, there was a solid wall of apartment buildings, just back from the beach. Then there was a wide "boardwalk" though made from pavers, lined with restaurants, shops, and bicycle rental places. The bicycle rental is a natural, since the boardwalk is about 10 km long. Finally there was the beach itself - a broad band of gentle sand.
Along much of the boardwalk this day a Fall fair was in progress. There were tractor and equipment displays, and food vendors. Among the food vendors were cheese producers, and we were able to buy some very authentic local types. We also found the popular Dutch type filled cookies, in huge quantities, local apples, and even home made "Avocat" liqueur.
also on display were animals of various types, providing good subject matter for Avi, Violet, and Amelia.
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At Nieuwpoort, we not only found the Iizer River, but many canals and channels. A map showed us where the correct cycle path was, and I could see the route on the GPS. When we came to a fork in the road, I said "left", but Dodie chose to ask directions of two sets of people, who said "left". Dodie does not trust the GPS. It's something we will have to work out on future trips.
Now we headed up the Ijzer, past fields and farm houses, and many more of those really muscular Belgian cows, often grey or white with grey spots.
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It was just before Diksmuide that Dodie looked left and saw a bunker/trench complex. Yikes, what is that? We stopped by the strong fence that kept us from entering the trenches and ate our lunch. As we sat there, some general tourists came trundling along, inside the trenches. It turned out we had come to the back end of the major Dodengang (Trench of Death) complex and museum. Another 300 meters put us inside the museum, which houses a collection of uniforms, guns, and other artifacts, and many photos about what happened here. One can then enter the trenches, a tour that can take 90 minutes.
At Knokkebrug we jumped onto the canal that leads directly to Ieper. Not far out of Ieper, at Essex Farm, we sailed past a little sign with the name of John McRae. We hit the brakes and backtracked, and discovered that we had hit the backend of the John McRae memorial - the field hospital/bunker where he had written In Flanders Fields. We stood in the exact place where it had all happened.
Ieper was a surprise. I had expected a smallish place, with little remaining from before 1914. Instead, here was something much like Brugge. A market square with many beautiful buildings standing around, a great church, and a city hall (I think). In addition, at one corner is the Menin Gate, erected in about 1920 as the memorial for dead soldiers who have no known grave. The names are inscribed inside the large arch of the gate.
Every night without exception, at 8 p.m., the Last Post is played at the gate. (We attended the ceremony later this day, with many hundreds of others. It was devoid of any military rah rah and was very moving. Although naturally there we a lot of grey heads in the audience, there were a goodly number of youth too - a hopeful sign.)
We continued through the gate, following vague directions given by the Tourist Information for the location of what turned out to be a municipal camping. The directions were weak, and we circled around a few times, until we spotted the telltale white glare of an assemblage of RV's. Goodness, if the town tourist information does not even know for certain where its own campground is, what good is it??
However, the site itself is good, with free wifi and a selection of picnic tables. We are well positioned to go to the museum tomorrow, before starting our own evacuation - yes, (though mixing World Wars) at Dunkirk.
Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 6,381 km (3,963 miles)
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